Can’t Transfer Me No Love

by Sarah Owen

contributor

After switching my major from math to history, I came across a tragic reality of our institution: We can no longer transfer money on Papercut, the school’s printing budget software. Implemented in 2013, Papercut seeks to reduce printing waste on campus and is a huge part of Millsaps’ green initiative. It makes students consider the necessity of their prints and reduces waste. It’s absolutely a necessary part of fulfilling the Millsaps Strategic Plan by creating a more environmentally stable campus.

The problem is that Papercut money has finally become every humanities students’ worst nightmare: nontransferable, unless you purchase a separate print card. I think I can speak authoritatively on a simple, logical fact: Some majors print less than others. Some classes require less printing than others. As a math major, I was rolling in the Papercut money, transferring it to friends in need, but Papercut money expires at the end of every semester. My time of prosperity has ended.

I like to think of the transfer of Papercut money as the quintessential Millsaps experience: Different disciplines coming together as a part of a community and supporting each other in their research and academic ventures. It encouraged interdepartmental conversations. When Papercut was implemented, people were able to transfer. Humanities students concerned about their budget were comforted by the idea of allowing transfers. They joked about sucking up to their science friends. Now those symbiotic relationships have fallen apart. How else am I going to learn words like “symbiotic” without asking science majors for print money?

Not allowing the transfer of Papercut money takes the autonomous experience of printing away from the community. I think allowing for transferring Papercut money allots for those differences in disciplines and variations of the Millsaps experiences while improving the campus’ environmental sustainability. It’s a fair and practical compromise, but, for now, I will happily accept Papercut cards.

This Post Has 3 Comments

  1. Tom Henderson

    Students can transfer money to other students. After logging in, select Transfers in the left hand column; fill in the amount and the username of the person to receive the credit; and add a comment if you want to. If you need help contact the Library Reference Desk.

    Tom Henderson

  2. Sarah Owen

    To clarify, the Papercut software still has the option of transferring print money but not the print money given to you at the beginning of the semester. When use the transfer feature, it lists your balance as $0 unless you are transferring separately purchased print money cards.
    I have done this with multiple people, including people working at the reference section of the library.

  3. Tom Henderson

    Sarah: you are correct. Papercut allows transfers from either the quota or cash account but not both. When we upgraded Papercut last summer the default setting to allow transfers only from the cash account was not changed and no one reported it until now. We have changed the setting so you can transfer credit from your quota account.

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